Police were called out to a wallaby blocking a road near Exmoor National Park today (September 7).

Officers were sent to the scene on the A396 near Taunton at around 8.20am after worried motorists called the police to report "a kangaroo or wallaby in the road", a Devon and Cornwall spokesman said.

A wallaby is a small or mid-sized macropod found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. They belong to the same family as kangaroos, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the six largest species of the family.

Wallabies belong to the same family as kangaroos

En route, a police officer joked that he was "ready for boxing", should the need arise.

Sergeant Dave Thubron wrote on Twitter: "G’Day- Classic first job of the morning! Comms- I see you're near Tiverton...can you pop to Bampton for a kangaroo in the road playing with traffic! Getting myself ready for some boxing."

When the cops arrived at the scene near Oakfordbridge, the animal had managed to bounce away from harm's way.